Pocket Monsters
by Lashana Inferno
Summary: When a shopping trip turns up pocketsized Alien and Predator characters, it's up to Lashana and Telca to figure out who's been shrinking people.... before THEY become the next featured product!
1. Shopping! The trouble begins!

_We own no one but ourselves, Tvashtar, Kadrith, Mischief, Kalamadea, Korin and Akhor._   
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Shopping! The trouble begins!   
  


A long drawn out sigh left Zelgadis' lips as he leaned back against a colomn and glanced towards the two females who had once again stopped to look at some inane object. Whatever insanity that had made him agree to join them on a trip to the mall had vanished long ago, leaving him alone, disgruntled, and at the mercy of these two madwomen. Whoever had invented shopping out to be drug out into the street and shot. Repeatedly. Of course, it didn't help that the mall was having their 'side-walk sale', each and every store having items at discounted prices that, of course, had to be fully examined by the two sorceresses. 

Whatever good will he had upon undertaking this little trip of had been crushed hours ago under the weight of consumer shopping. 

A squeal came from the duo then, and he sighed for the fifth time in as many minutes as he rose his gaze from his study of the scuffed tiled floor to the small crowd who had gathered in front of a display table, numerous murmurs and whispers of excitement coming from the group. His breath leaving him in an irritated huff, he pushed away from his leaning spot and approached the little mob, effortlessly slipping through the crowd until he was standing next to Lashana, who was cooing and awwing over something on the table. 

She spotted him out of the corner of her eye and grinned as she nudged him with her elbow. "Zel, look. A mini Predator!" 

"And a mini Alien!" Telca added, shifting some bags into her left hand before reaching out to poke one with an overlong nail, attaching herself to Lashana when it moved. "Egad! It's alive!!" 

"Ack!" 

Zelgadis sighed again and patiently waited for Lashana to un-glomp him. "Do you mind?" 

"Eh? Oh, Sorry." Her cheeks flushing pink, the elf quickly released him, then spent a moment adjusting his cape and shirt before turning back to the table and leaning down to blink at the Predator. "It's kinda cute." 

He gagged. "You have _got_ to be kidding. You think _that_ is cute?" 

"Cuter than you," Telca muttered under her breath, ducking a smack from Lashana when the elf heard her. 

Lashana would have aimed another whack had a hyperactive child not shoved his way between her and the table, his head barely reaching her waist as he hopped up and down, whining loudly. "Mommy! Mommy! I want _that one!_" 

'_That one_' just happened to be the Predator, and he visibly shrank away from the overactive brat when the kid let out a scream of protest, the mother preaching to deaf ears as she tried to talk her way out of buying such an expensive 'toy'. 

"_Mommyyyyy!_" 

"Agh...." Grimacing, Lashana clamped her hands over her ears, then sent a withering glare at the child as she pushed her way past him, reached past the Pocket Indiana Jones and the T-Rex, then scooped the Pocket Predator into her right hand, sheilding it from the grubby fingers of the child. "Shopkeep! Get yer arse over here already!" 

Telca, seeing that the child's attention was now torn between the elf and the Pocket Monster that she was debating over, shrugged and reached out to pick up the Pocket Alien, holding it's tail between her thumb and forefinger as she rose it off the table, then eyed it. "You promise not to chew on the furniture?" When it looked back at the child, shivered, and nodded, she smiled and added her voice to Lashana's. "Yo! Can we get some service out here?" 

The child, having been denied the two things that he had wanted, merely stood there and shrieked. 

Having the mentality of a child anyway, Lashana merely turned, opened her hand so he could see the Predator, and stuck out her tongue. "Nyah nyah. He's _miiine!_" 

"_Waaaaa! I WANT IT!!!_" 

"Never having children," Telca muttered as she shoved a wad of bills at the cashier. "Keep the change." 

"Ditto," Lashana growled, her eyes narrowing when the cashier grabbed the Predator out of her hand and dumped him in a black box with air holes. Huffing, she grabbed her box, gave the child a scathing glare, then stalked out of the crowd, dragging a snickering Zelgadis along with her. "Ye Gods, I _lothe_ children. Telca, I swear, that if I _ever_ entertain the thought of having a child, I give you my full permission to smack me." 

"Will do!" her friend said cheerfully as she tried to balance her bags, then gave up and dumped them on Zel. "Hold these for a moment, will ya?" Not waiting for him to reply, she turned her attention to her own little box with air holes, prying it open and smiling as the little Alien crawled out. "Y'know, they are kinda cute when they're small and non-life-threatening." 

"I know," Lashana beamed, dumping her bag into Zel's arms before using her nails to open her own little box and peering in at the Predator. "You're not gonna try to kill me in my sleep, are you? Because I'd hate to think that I saved you from that child just to have to feed you to Telca's cat." 

"You're not feeding that to my kitten! It'll make her sick!" 

"Would you shut up? I can't threaten people with you hanging over my shoulder!" 

"Aww, poor baby!" 

Zelgadis grumbled as he ambled after him with the armload of heavy purchases, wondering how Lashana and Telca had been able to carry them without collapsing under their combined weight. By his calculations, the weight of everything should have stretched their arms until their knuckles touched the ground. "Ano... are we going home now?" 

The duo paused, then glanced back at him. 

"I suppose," Telca mused. "I'm pretty much done." 

"Yeah," Lashana agreed with a wave of a credit card. "Wolvie's card is maxed out again." 

"Thank the Gods," the chimera moaned, wincing at the duet of glares that came his way. 

"Well, this way, we'll find out if they can survive living with us," Lashana smiled to Telca, gesturing to the two Pocket Monsters, who sent wary looks her way. "After all, if they can survive _your_ driving, they can survive anything!" 

"I resent that!" 

"The elf's got a point though." 

"Shaddup Rock-Boy!" 

"Bitch." 

"Alright! That's it! Here, hold him." 

Lashana's eyes widened as Telca dumped the Pocket Alien in her arms and barely managed to dance out of the way as her friend moved to tackle and bludgeon Zelgadis with a blunt weapon. "Ack! Nonono! You can't!" Panicked, she interposed herself between the chimera and the other sorceress, not liking the homicidal look in Telca's eyes. "You can't hurt him. He's.... uh.... He's holding the Lord of the Rings DVDs!" 

Telca paused at that, her head cocked to the side as she mentally processed that. "Good point," she said finally, much to the relief of Zelgadis. "I'll just sic Xellos on him later." 

Zelgadis choked, nearly dropping the bags. "Ack.... Isn't that a little harsh?!" 

"No, not really." 

Shrugging, Lashana followed the other sorceress out of the mall, humming the tune to the Return of the King soundtrack as she walked, smothering a grin as she eyed Zelgadis out of the corner of her right eye. "Y'know, if you promise to help me replant the flowers near the front doors, I _might_ order Xellos to leave you alone." 

He shot her a look filled with relief and thankfulness. "Deal!" 

"Where's my Alien?" Telca blurted suddenly, rounding on the elf so quickly that the other woman nearly slammed into her, but she didn't think twice of that as she plucked the Alien out of the elf's hands, then turned back to the large red king-cab ford truck that sat nearby. "Ya'll know the drill." 

Lashana sweatdropped, shoulders slumping as she sighed wearily. "We put the stuff away while you start the car." 

"Bingo!" 

She grumbled. "Why do I put up with this? Why? I'm an Avatar, I deserve better than this. I could blow up the world, but do I get any respect, no, of course not...." 

The Predator's eyes widened at the females mutterings, able to understand her language to do the universal translater that he carried. Though he was glad to be free of both the store and the screaming brat, suddenly finding himself owned by what could be a madwoman wasn't exactly making his day. The only comfort he had was that he still had his weapons, though he doubted that his shoulder cannon, spear, or wrist knives would be of any use when among these people. Still, it was better than being owned by the child. Much better. 

"Ano, Lashana?" Zelgadis met her gaze as she helped him pitch the bags into the bac of the truck, then glanced at the small warrior that was crouched on her left shoulder, one hand gripping some of her hair to stay in place. "What are you going to do with a chibi Predator?" 

"Y'know, I really don't know," she answered, her voice a little faraway as she scooped the warrior into her hand and eyed him curiously, smiling when she saw him returning her curious stare. "I'll figure something out. Side's it's not like he's mindless or anything. I just gotta find a way for him to go around the Palace without getting himself killed." 

"At least mine can wall-crawl," Telca said smugly, chuckling at the glares that Lashana and the Predator sent at her. "Hey, it's not my fault you picked the wrong one." 

"Shaddup and drive," Lashana growled, shoving Zelgadis into the front passenger seat while she took the back, sighing happily as she threw herself down onto her back, sprawling across the seat. "Home Jeeves." 

"I'd be nicer if I were you," Telca warned. "Else I'll lean my seat back and bash you in the head with it." 

"Ech, point taken." 

"You two are insane," Zelgadis muttered, very aware that he was stating the obvious but not caring. 

It was Telca that replied first, her voice immitaing that of a valley girl as she started the truck and kicked it into drive. "Like, _duh._" 

Chuckling, Lashana braced her feet against the door and punched a fist into the air. "Onwards!" Her chuckle turned into a full fledged cackle as Telca peeled out of the parking lot, ploughing over a stop sign and monster-trucking over a cement divider in her impatience to get onto the highway. 

While Zelgadis had buckled himself in by wrapping the seat-belt around himself and the chair a good dozen times, she sat freely in the back, content to merely brace herself against the bucking of the truck as she propped herself on an elbow and regarded the chibi Predator. "We gotta get you a name," she mused. 

"I'm callin' mine, Fred," Telca announced as she turned in her seat to look at the elf, ignoring Zel's screams as he scrambled to free his hands to grab the steering wheel and control the truck. 

"Fred? You're naming an Alien, Fred? Oh Telca, that's low, even for you." 

"What? It's a good name. Isn't it?" She smiled at the Alien, who sulked and hissed at her. "It's either Fred or Barbie. Nod once for Fred, two for Barbie." When it shivered and nodded once, she grinned and looked at Lashana. "See? He likes it." 

"That's just evil," the elf muttered, turning to look at the Predator. "Luckily for you that I have better taste in names." 

"Oh, yeah, suuure. Like Whore, the little white runt?" 

"His _name_ is _Akhor!_" Lashana snarled. "And he's not a runt! Battleaxe!" 

"Slut!" 

"Bitch!" 

"Skank!" 

"_Rogue!_" 

"Oh, that does it!" 

As Telca lunged for Lashana's throat, Zelgadis loosed a high pitched scream and, since his hands were tangled in his seatbelt, leaned over and used his teeth to turn the wheel, saving them from a head-on collision with an eighteen wheeler. "Will you two _shut up_ and _HELP ME?!_" 

Telca looked up from strangling the elf and blinked at the cars that were coming towards them, quirking an eyebrow when she saw the Alien hanging from the rearview mirror. "Oh." 

"Whatdya mean, 'oh'?!" Lashana yelled as she shoved Telca back into the drivers seat. "Drive the damned truck you psycho!" 

"Eww! He drooled all over the steering wheel!" 

"Will you just _drive?!_" 

"I think you should name him Fluffy. It's a good name, Fluffy." 

This time it was both Lashana _and _Zelgadis that yelled at her. "_DRIVE!_" 

"Yeah, yeah. Yeesh." 

Muttering curses under her breath, Lashana leaned back against the seat and rubbed at her throat for a moment before she turned to look at the Predator, who had attached himself to the back of the seat when the fighting had started. "I just thought of something--" 

"There's a first," Telca grumbled. 

This time, Lashana chose to ignore her, her attention resting soley on the tiny Predator. "Can you talk? Do you already have a name?" 

He blinked at her in surprise, not expecting that. His previous owner hadn't even thought him intelligent, and yet this _odd_ female.... He wondered if the universal translater would work both ways. "It's Vk'leita." 

Lashana frowned. "What? Say that again. Vk...." 

Obviously the translater was only one-way. "_Vic-lee-tah_." 

"Vk'leita. Is that right?" When he nodded, she rose a hand and tapped a fingernail against her chin. "Why does that sound so familiar?" 

Telca swerved around a car and veered around another truck. "Hang on!" she yelled as she cut across five lanes of honking traffic, ignoring Zelgadis' screams and Lashana's muffled curse as the elf lost her balance and slammed into the side of the cab. "I told you to hold on." 

"I know. I know...." Groaning, the elf rubbed at the new bump on her head, then looked around for the Predator, grimacing when she reached down and picked him off the floor of the truck, lifting him up so that he was standing next to the headrest of the drivers chair, seeing him sink his wristblades into the headrest to give himself added support. "Are we there yet?" 

"Yup! Home sweet home!" 

"Oh thank the gods," Zel sighed as the burgundy haired sorceress turned onto the long driveway to the Palace, starting to try to untangle himself from the seatbelt. 'Try' was the proper term however, for sometime during the drive, he had managed to completely tangle himself up in the belt, his hands pinned against his chest. "Uh, help?" 

As Telca parked the truck, Lashana leaned forward and ripped the seatbelt off of him, smiling at his shocked expression as she handed him the mess of belt. "Here ya go." 

"Sometimes you frighten me," he muttered as he climbed out of the truck, shaking his head when the two women cackled softly. 

"Only sometimes? Damn, I'm loosing my edge." Grinning ferally, the elf scooped the chibi Predator into her left hand, then kicked open one of the doors, humming as she hopped out then shoved the door closed with her hip. 

"Lashana-chaaaaan!" 

"Ech!" With a yelp, she dodged the flying tackle from Xellos, turning back to watch as he slammed face-first into the side of the truck, stuck here for a moment, then slid to the ground with a contented sigh. "Hi Xel." 

"You always do so well with the nutjobs," Telca commented with a smile as she went to grab some of the bags, the Alien comfortably perched on the top of her head, it's tail arched up so the point was weaving back and forth over it's head. 

Ignoring the jab, Lashana merely boosted Vk'leita up to her shoulder, then grabbed the rest of the bags and headed for the front doors, thanking Zelgadis when he opened the door for her. More than content to leave Telca to get whatever she hadn't been able to carry, she left her bags in the Main Hall, then headed for the kitchen, sighing tiredly as she deposited Vk'leita on the island counter before going in search of the instant coffee and an Ovation stick mint. 

Just as she had finished boiling the water, the sound of a teleport and a cloud of brimstone sent her into a fit of coughing, and she frowned as she waved the soot away from herself, turning watery eyes to look at the youngest of the males who lived in the Harem, the teenage Nightcrawler, who sent her an apologetic look as she tried to muffle her coughs. 

"Hi Elfy," he smiled, ignoring the look she was giving him as he ducked around her and quickly grabbed a soda from the fridge, quickly slamming the door shut before the Things that lived in it crawled loose. "So, anything good on sale?" 

"Tons. The mall's having it's sidewalk sale. Got you a new Xbox game." 

"Ja?!" When she nodded, he grinned excitedly and looked around for the bags. "Cool! Where is it?!" 

"In the Main Ha--" She cut herself off when he vanished in another cloud of brimstone, then shrugged and finished fixing her coffee, humming in pleasure as she sipped at the dark liquid. After a few more sips, she looked over at Vk'leita and tilted her head. "You hungry? There's some steak I could reheat...." 

The rest of her sentence was drowned out by the explosion from the backyard, and it was pure instinct that made her drop to the floor, barely avoiding the high speed frizbee that shot through the glass patio doors and embedded itself into the far wall of the kitchen. Eyes wide and heart pounding, she slowly staggered to her feet, glancing from the frizbee to the doors a few times before she smoothed her hair back and, ignoring the shocked look from Vk'leita, shoved the sliding door open and glared at the group of males that were halfway up the deck stairs. 

"Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?!" she yelled, her glare moving from Kang, to Wolverine, Remy and Duncan, then finally to Blackwargreymon, who looked stricken by her sudden appearance. "That damned frizbee damn near took my head off! What the hell are you idiots _doing_ out here?!" 

"Well, uh...." Kang's scales clicked at the glare she leveled at him, his wings twitching with his rising nervousness. "See, it's more challenging if we put a bit more power behind the throw...." 

"With _what?_" she frowned. "A Fireball?" When the draconian ducked his head in a nod, she threw her hands up into the air in exasperation. "I give up. I give up! You're all nuts. Every last one of you." 

The guys turned to Blackwargreymon as the elf whirled and stomped back into the Palace. "Your turn, romeo," Wolverine smirked. "Inta the fryin' pan wit ya." 

"Thanks," he growled, pushing past them to head after his Bonded. "Lashana, wait. Please? Are you okay?" 

In response, she planted a fist on her hip, then pointed at the frizbee stuck in the wall, eliciting a wince from him as she gave him her best 'what the hell do _you_ think?!' look. 

"Okay. Okay, I can understand that--" 

"You can understand that? Well _good!_" she drawled, eyes narrowed. "Then I'm sure you won't mind ripping that thing out of the wall, plastering the hole shut, and repainting everything! And you can get your Merry Wacko Sidekicks to help out!" 

Drawn by the familiar sound of screaming, Telca poked her head into the kitchen, eyeing the neon green frizbee that was embedded into the wall. "Hm. This is new. Let me guess." Folding her arms over her chest, she walked into the room, gazed from the gathered males - pausing to wink at Remy - then looked at the irritated Lashana, vaugely aware that the Alien had leapt from her head to the island countertop. "Fireball boosted frizbee through the patio door?" 

"How the hell do you know that?" Lashana blurted in surprise. 

Telca shrugged. "Sounds like something they would do." 

The anger drained from her at that. "Yeah," she muttered with a chuckle. "It does, doesn't it?" 

"Hey neat," Duncan grinned, leaning over the two Pocket Creatures. "These are so lifelike! Where'd you get them?" 

The two sorceresses exchanged knowing looks. "Some place at the mall." 

"They're really well made!" 

The corner of Lashana's mouth quirked, and she bit her lower lip in a bid to keep herself from laughing as she glanced at Telca again, then looked at the small green form that flew into the kitchen. "Korin!" Predator forgotten for the moment, she smiled and rose her right arm, waiting until the cat-sized green dragon had landed before chucking him under his chin and reaching up to scratch behind his horns. "Hey, littling. Where are your brothers?" 

::Kalamadea's watching TV with Zelgadis and Mewtwo.:: The smooth cool voice resonated in her mind as he cocked his head at her, ruby red eyes gleaming with mischief. ::Akhor's sleeping in Malcho's room.:: 

_Is he? Again?_ She shook her head, then pulled him into the crook of her arm, cradling him there as she returned her attention to the guys who had gathered around the counter, their own attentions locked on the 'lifelike' Alien and Predator. 

"It doesn't even feel like plastic." 

"Damn, they really do look lifelike, don't they?" 

"Hey look. It's fully posable!" 

"How neat is this?" 

"Didn't know y'all were inta dolls." 

"They're _action figures._" 

"Y'uh huh. Sure thing, bub." 

"For once, I'm wit you on dis, Wolverine. Dey're dolls." 

"_Action. Figures._" 

"Hey wait, did that Predator just move?" 

"I don't--" 

"AHH!! It's _ALIVE!!_ It _bit_ me!!" 

Telca dissolved into laughter at the sight of Duncan glomping Kang, the draconian staggering backwards in shock and tripping over his own feet, sending the duo crashing to the floor. As she watched, Wolverine extended a metal claw and poked the Predator in the chest with the smooth curve of it, grunting when the Pred knocked it away with his spear. 

"Ya knew about this, didn't ya?" the feral accused, turning to look at a the giggling sorceresses and sighing when Lashana nodded. "An ya didn't feel like tellin' us 'cause?" 

"It was funny!" Telca grinned as she walked forward and patted the Alien on it's head before tickling it's belly. "I named him, Fred." 

"Fred." Remy glanced at Wolverine, then shrugged. "Good for you, chere. Uh, where'd you find dem?" 

"The mall," she smiled, vaguely aware that Duncan and Kang were now peering over her shoulders at the two chibi creatures. "Saved Fred, and the Pred there from some grubby little brat." 

"So it was a pity buy," Wolverine guessed, loosing a yell when the Pred's shoulder cannon shot off a blast at him, singing his hair. "Hey! Watch it pipsqueak!" 

"His name's Vk'leita," Lashana told him as she went to sit on one of the stools, letting Korin hop from her arm to the counter top as she eyed the Predator. 

Blackwargreymon blinked. "Vic what?" 

"Vk'leita." 

"Lemme guess. Ya named him, didn't ya darlin'." 

"No, _Wolverine._ I did not name him," she growled, shooting a glare at him. "He told me his name." 

Remy and Wolverine exchanged dubious looks. "Uh huh," the feral muttered. "Sure thin', darlin'." 

"Don't make me sic Xellos on you." Satisfied that he had been suitibly warned, the elf turned back to Vk'leita and shifted so she could rest her chin on a fist. "Ground rules. No Hunting of the dragons or the cat. And don't go in the fridge. Just.... just _don't_." 

"Same goes for you," Telca said to Fred. "If either of you hurts my cat you will not like what I do to you." 

Curious, Korin crouched down to his belly and eyed the mini Predator, noting the mirad of weapons as he lashed his tail, venting a bit of his nervousness. ::Vk'leita, huh?:: he telepathed, seeing the Hunter jerk a little in surprise. ::My name's, Korin. You want a tour of the Palace?:: 

"Just stay away from, Xellos," Lashana warned, smirking as Korin shifted and let Vk'leita use his left foreleg as a step up, boosting the Predator up until the Hunter was sitting on the dragon's shoulders. "And don't do those thrice damned mid-air barrel rolls." 

Korin snorted and rolled his eyes. ::Yes, _mother._ Yeesh.:: Flicking his tail, he rose to his full height and spread his wings, stretching them for a moment before jumping off the counter, wings moving in the crucial downbeat before he soared out of the kitchen. 

"Uh, Lashana? Do you really think it's a good idea to pair the Pred with Korin?" Blackwargreymon asked, very aware of the green dragon's mischivous and troublemaking nature. "I mean, won't he, y'know, corrupt the Pred?" 

"Nah. Besides, I need someone to look after the little guy while I go through all my Predator comics and books. The name Vk'leita is really familiar somehow...." 

"I still think you're nuts," Telca shrugged as she tickled Fred under his chin, cooing to him playfully. 

"You're really not the one to talk," Kang muttered, blinking when Lashana turned a glare onto him. "What?" 

"You're not one to talk either, Mr. Let's-shoot-a-high-speed-frizbee-through-the-patio-doors." 

"Hey! That was an accident!" 

Blackwargreymon winced and leaned towards the draconian. "Don't fight with her on this. She's already making us fix the wall. Don't piss her off to the point where we have to renovate the entire kitchen." 

The draconian grimaced and nodded. "Good point." 

"I _heard_ that," Lashana grumbled as she stood and headed for the door, pausing to look at the two males over her shoulder. "Elven hearing, remember?" 

Telca chuckled. "_Busted._" 

Duncan snickered at the looks on the two males faces and leaned back against a wall, content to watch the mayhem as it unfolded. He knew well enough not to get on Lashana or Telca's bad sides, and the frizbee fiasco was just the train wreak needed to tick at least one of them off. On the other hand, he _had_ been part of that fiasco, and after having lived in the Harem for over two years, self-preservation had been something that he had quickly adopted. "I'm gonna go watch TV with Zel." 

"Chickenshit," Wolverine muttered sourly, folding his arms over his chest as he glared at the Immortal, who smirked and waved as he left the room. 

"Now, now, children," Telca scolded teasingly as she scooped Fred into her hands. "Behave." 

"I'm headin' to the library," Lashana said finally, pausing to grab a bag of 'Italiano' Doritos and a soda before heading for the stairs, chuckling under her breath when she saw Telca's cat, Mischief, bolt out of the livingroom, barely avoiding the thrown VCR remote and the TV guide. The elf had termed the creature a 'demon cat' from the moment it had been brought into the Palace. It, like Telca, adored causing trouble like there was no tomorrow. And, also like her mistress, the cat could get away with _anything_ because no one was brave enough to confront Telca about her cat's actions. 

Shaking her head, she headed up the stairs, lightly trailing her fingers on the polished railing on her way up, glad that she was in shape as she headed for the third floor of the Palace, wanting to get to the quiet sanctuary of the Library so she could relax and research in peace. Granted, her 'research' was going to consist of reading through three 'Alien vs Predator' books and a horde of comics, but hey, it was still research.... of a sort. It was her sort of research. Fun, easy and of the non-scholarly sort. 

The Library, when she finally reached it, wasn't as empty as she had hoped, but, at least, if she could have chosen her company, it would have been the one who was already there. Kenshin. The only quiet, respectable male in the Palace. 

He looked up from his book as she walked into the large room, his welcoming smile making his eyes glitter with life as he stood. "Konnichiwa, Lashana-dono." 

"Heyla, Kenshin." Just talking to him helped to ease the tension that had been building in her shoulders. "Don't get up. I'm just here to find a quiet corner and read." 

He quirked an eyebrow at her as he plunked down onto the couch again, his reverse-blade sword laid out on the cushions next to him. She had never seen him without his sword nearby, but granted, his life was tied to that sword. Tied to his vow to use his sword to protect in order to atone for his past, a past in which he had been known as the battousai, the manslayer. A killer of hundreds. Such a huge change he had made, and she respected him even more for it. 

"More research?" he asked curiously. 

"Eh, kinda. I'm trying to find out where I've heard a name before. Lucky for me, rather than those damned spellbooks and tomes, I get to go through comic books." She grinned and winked at him. "My kinda research, don't'ja think?" 

He laughed. "Hai. You'll certainly have a better time of it, that you will." 

"That's what I thought too," she chuckled. "Anyway, you go back to your book, Ken-chan. I'll be just be over here. Oh, by the way, there's a chibi Predator and Alien running around, so watch where you step, ne?"   
  
  
  


TBC 


	2. Secrets! Clues and Mazoku's abound!

_I'm lazy. See chapter 1 for the disclaimer._   
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Secrets! Clues and Mazoku's abound!   
  
  


Telca yawned softly as she finished gathering her hair into one long braid, chuckling when Fred jumped off the top of her head and latched onto the end of said braid, swinging around with hisses and squeals of playfulness. Grinning widely, she let him continue to cling there as she headed for the computer room, humming the theme song to '_Wolf's Rain_' as she peeked into the Game Room on the way by, smiling at the sight of Nightcrawler playing _Crimson Skies_, the new game that Lashana had picked up for him. Truthfully, everyone in the Harem spoiled that teenager, mostly because he was the youngest out of all of them. 

Glad to see that he was enjoying himself, she turned and headed for the second floor and the refuge of the internet, a place where she could join in on conversations, mailing lists and various boards, especially those which piqued her interest, like ones about Lord of the Rings, the Elves from Lord of the Rings and anything to do with the love of her life, Gambit. On these topics, she was the most knowledgeable, and enjoyed sharing pieces of that knowledge with others that shared her obsessions. Of course, where Remy was involved, she'd share only so much information. It wouldn't do to have fangirls ravage the Palace in search of him. 

Being quiet in case someone was already there, she silent toed the door open and peeked in, a grin spreading over her lips when she saw that the room was empty. Flicking on the light, she kicked the door shut behind her and went to sit at one of the five state-of-the-art computers, smiling when Fred swung from her braid and landed on the top of the moniter, his wall-crawling ability keeping him from sliding off and crashing onto the keyboard. 

As soon as the computer had booted up, she opened her mp3 player and loaded the Return of the King soundtrack, humming along with it as she opened an internet window and went into her favorites, deciding to check out the message boards she frequented, mildly hoping that she hadn't missed any interesting conversations. To her surprise, she discovered that there hadn't been any activity at all, and as she scanned through some of the older topics, Fred leaned over the edge of the moniter to peer at the screen in what seemed to be real interest, his tail swaying as he stared at the email program that she opened. 

Oblivious to the Alien's rising interest, Telca typed in her password, then patiently waited as the email server accumulated her new messages, her eyes widening when the number passed the 'teens' and stopped at a grand twenty-five. Her keen gaze immediately spotted the ten spam emails, and she couldn't help but laugh at the ones that promised to 'lengthen' or 'enlarge' a certain body part that she simply did not have. She had seen some weird spam emails before, but so far, the record holder belonged to the one that was about crossdressing vegetarian midgits. The enlargement ones simply paled in comparison to _that_ particular piece of weirdness. 

Just as she was about to reply to a certain email concerning Rivendell Elves, a knock at the door drew a rather protective hiss from Fred, who rose into a crouch, his inner jaws entending slightly as he turned his attention to the new arrival. She nearly jumped out of her skin seconds later when he spat, the corrosive bile burning a hole into the door jab and eliciting a yell from Wolverine as he threw himself backwards into the hallway. 

"Jeezus! Damn, darlin'! What tha hell was _that?!_" 

"Uhh, sorry. I think he's a little protective," Telca said in defence of Fred's actions, quickly motioning to the Alien not to hack out any more dangerous loogies as she turned in the swivel chair to look at the Canuck. "What's up?" 

Grumbling, he poked his head into the room, and, once he was sure he wasn't a moving target, slowly walked in, eyeing the Alien warily. "That Pred and Korin're wreakin' havoc." 

"So?" She made a gesture of dismissal as she turned back to the computer. "It's no problem of mine." 

He sighed and hid a wince, knowing what was coming. "They're, uh, goin' after yer cat." 

"They're _WHAT?!_" Cursing, she logged out of her email and shut off the computer, slamming her hands on the desk as she pushed herself to her feet and spun, feeling Fred leap out and grab onto her long braid seconds before she stomped out of the room. 

Wolverine, who had wisely moved out of her way, swallowed thickly and watched her head for the stairs. Knowing how angry she was going to be about this, he wisely chose to avoid the whole situation all together by turning and heading for one of the spare TV rooms on the third floor. Self preservation and all that. 

Luckily for Zelgadis, Mewtwo and Duncan, they heard her coming, and they all exchanged glances, each swearing that they wouldn't let her know that it had been _their_ idea to sic the Pred and dragon team on her cat. Admitting that would bring about a fate worse than death, especially if Telca was feeling inventive. In the end, when she finally stalked into the room, no one would meet her gaze or even dare to breath loudly, which was probably for the better, since she was about ready to rip someone apart. 

Seeing that they were all being thick, she snorted and stomped through the room into the Game Room, slamming the door shut behind her and frowned when Nightcrawler yelped, the Xbox controller falling from his hands as he jumped away from her. "Did you see those idiots?" 

"Uhh... which ones?" the teenager stammered, not liking how her usual purple eyes had turned amber, a sure sign that she was about to lose her temper. 

"Korin and the Predator." 

"I don't know about any Predator, but Korin flew threw here five minutes ago, headed for the garage I think." He paused, then dared to ask. "Why?" 

"Don't ask," she growled as she stalked past him, then broke into a run, hitting the garage door going full tilt and screaming when she saw her poor kitty backed up on one of the work tables, the Predator slowly advancing on her. "Just a damned minute you pint-sized pain in the neck!" Huffing, she stomped over and grabbed the Pred in a fist, yanking him away from Mischief and raising him to her eye level as she tried to yank his spear out of his hands. "Gimme that! What did I tell you?! Do. Not. Hurt. My. Cat!!" 

_Busted._ Trying to be inconspicous, Korin slowly started to back away from the scene, freezing in place when that amber glare was turned on him. ::Uh.... hi?:: 

"Don't you 'uh, hi?' me you scaled rat! You damn well know better than you go after Mischief! And you!" Eyes narrowed, she turned her glare back to the Predator, who actually winced and tried to get free. "Next time you pull a stunt like this, I'm going to beat you to death with a frying pan! Is that clear?!" When he nodded, she growled and dropped him, letting him fall to the floor as she turned to stalk out of the room, smirking evilly when Fred hissed and snarled at the Predator. "Good boy. I knew there was a reason I picked you. Next time you can spit acid at him." 

Korin swallowed thickly and looked at Mischief, grumbling when the cat, tail raised high in the air, turned and hauntingly strode across the worktable, then lithely hopped to the floor, her head raised snootily as she padded out of the garage. ::I don't know who's worse, the cat, or Telca.:: 

~*~ 

Munching on a Dorito, Lashana used a clean nail to turn the page in her book, licking the seasoning from her lips as she reached out and groped for her soda, managing to grab it on the fourth try. After guzzling half the can, she set it back on the table and turned back to the book. She had already gone through eight different comic book mini-series with no luck, so had decided to turn her attention to the books, her memory still nagging at her about the Predator's name. She knew she had read it _somewhere_, the question was _where?_

Kenshin was still quietly sitting over on the couch, making hardly a noise as he read, and she smiled as she spared a moment to look over at him. Shaking her head slightly, she turned her attention back to her book, a slight frown creasing her forehead as she flipped forward a few pages, then suddenly sat up, the bag of Doritos falling forgotten onto the floor as her eyes widened. 

Hearing the sudden move, Kenshin looked up from his book and frowned over at her, rising to his feet when he saw how tense she had become. "Lashana-dono?" he murmured, reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder when she didn't acknowledge him and crouching to be at eye level with her as he shook her slightly, finally drawing her gaze. "What is it?" 

"I just figured out why the Pred's name sounded so familiar," she answered, her gaze slowly hardening. "He's a character in this book, and he's also the Pocket Monster that I bought at the mall." 

The samurai blinked at that. "What does that mean?" 

"I don't know," she whispered as she rose to her feet, meeting his gaze when he did so as well. "But I'm going to find out." 

Gripping the book in her right hand, she quickly cleaned up the mess the dropped Doritos bag had done, then grabbed her soda and headed out of the Library, smiling when Kenshin quickly gathered his sword and followed her. Opening her mind, she reached for her dragons, easily sensing where Korin was, the new knowledge giving her the information she needed in order to open a portal and walk through into the kitchen, frowning as she turned to discover Duncan, Zelgadis and Kang sitting around an open fridge, watching Korin and Vk'leita as the duo battled with the Thing that lived in the fridge. 

Yelping, she ran forward and first ripped her dragon free of the tentacles, then grimaced and reached in to grab the Predator, idly noting that the fork he was using as a spear wasn't doing much against his supposed prey as she yanked him free and kicked the fridge door shut. "_Kang..._" 

Gulping, the draconian grabbed his two fellow gamblers and bolted, leaving her standing in the middle of the kitchen with Kenshin, who sighed and rose a hand to his forehead in an exasperated smack. Knowing what he felt like, she gently placed both Korin and Vk'leita on the island counter before fishing the book out of the back pocket of her jeans, pointing to it as she addressed the Predator. "You knew Dachande, didn't you? You were the one who found Da'dtou'di, ne?" 

His eyes widened as he stared up at her in shock, barely able to believe that she _knew_ of him. "How do you know this?!" he demanded, daring to walk to the edge of the counter as he glared up at her. "You, a human, how do you know?" 

She blinked at the garbled language. "Uh..." She shot a look at Kenshin, who looked as lost as she felt. "Okay, we got us a language problem here. You understand me but I can't understand you. Crap. Korin? Littling, can you use your telepathy?" 

::Not really,:: he frowned. ::I can only read his feelings. Not his thoughts. Not like I can read you, or anyone else. It's like there's a barrier there to stop me.:: 

"Damn. Damn. And damn again." She sighed and dropped the book on the counter, raising her and to run her fingers through her hair. "What the hell do we do now?" 

"Who does what now?" Kang asked curiously, unable to help himself from sticking his snout into her business again. 

She quirked an eyebrow at him and folded her arms over her chest. "Shouldn't you be running away?" 

He paused, trying to guage her mood. "Should I be?" 

"....no. I'm too distracted to scream at you right now." 

"Thank God," Duncan muttered as he came out of hiding, approaching the elf and looking from the '_Alien vs Predator_' book to the Pocket Predator. "What'd you find?" 

"Well," she mused, dimly aware that Kenshin and Kang had drawn closer to her. "From what I can firgure out, this guy here is a character in this book. Which means that he's from an alternate dimension than ours. Why he's the size of a soda can I have no idea, but I doubt it's a natural occurance." 

"Magick?" Kang suggested, eyeing the Pred closely. 

"Nah. I would have sensed that. But there's this weird language barrier. He understands Korin and I, but we can't understand him. With Korin's telepathy a normal language barrier wouldn't be a problem, but for some reason he can't reach this guy's thoughts." 

"That's gotta be a spell," Kang muttered as he straightened and rose a hand to cup his chin, a faraway look coming into his eyes as he mulled that over. "It'd have to be really advanced if you can't sense it." 

"I know. That's what's bugging me." 

Meanwhlie, Duncan had leaned down to be near eye-level with Vk'leita. "Dooo yoooou understaaaaand the woooords thaaaat arrrre cooomiiiing ouuuut of myyyy mouuuuuth?" 

Kenshin sweatdropped. "Ano, Duncan, I do not think that is what Lashana meant." 

"Baka! I already said that he can understand _us!_" Lashana snapped as she whacked the Immortal upside the head, forcing Vk'leita to hop out of the way as the hit made the Highlander smash his forehead against the counter. "It's _us_ who can't understand _him!_ Get it!?" 

Duncan grimaced and rubbed at his head. "I get it. I get it." 

Kang rolled his eyes at the sight and leaned back against the main counter. "So, what are you going to do?" 

She held her breath for a moment, then sighed. "I'm not sure. We can't get anywhere if we can't understand each other so...." 

It was Kenshin that came up with the brilliant idea first. "Doesn't Beast have a universal translater down in his lab?" 

Lashana, Duncan and Kang stared at each other for a moment. 

"Why the hell didn't I think of that?" the elf muttered, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment as her cheeks turned pink. "Either way, let's just go. C'mon you." Knowing that he was a seasoned Hunter and a well-known Leader amongst his people didn't phase her one damned bit. Hence the fact that she had just grabbed him up in a hand on her way out of the kitchen. He didn't struggle, which was good, but she sensed that he was sulking, and she smirked a little at that, finding it amusing that a seasoned Leader would sulk like this. 

Korin landed on her right shoulder as she stopped at what seemed to be a wall and moved aside a piece of moulding, uncovering a keypad upon which she punched in her six digit security code and stepped back, allowing the scanners to do their thing before the 'wall' slid aside to reveal a sterile steel elevator. Humming the tune to _Evanescense's 'Bring me to life'_, she calmly stepped in and waited for Kenshin, Duncan and Kang to file in with her before she hit 'B1', her eye catching on the 'B2' button as she entertained the thought that she hadn't trained in the Danger Room lately. 

But the thought of training was quickly set aside as the doors slid open, the soft ring of the elevator announcing that they had reached Beasts lab, and she took in a breath of the clean sterile environment as she stepped out into the lab, a smirk spreading across her lips when the vague scent of coffee and twinkies reached her. "Heyla? Beast? Beast, where are you?" Her gaze cut across the small infirmary they had, then to the hallway that led deeper into the lab, hearing Korin's soft rumble as she headed down it. "Yo! Beast! I know this place is huge but I know ya ain't deaf!" 

"Lashana?" 

"Finally," Kang smirked. "A sign of life!" 

"Cut it out," Lashana muttered as she walked into a huge lab, smiling when she spotted the blue furred genius that resided in the Harem. "Beast. Hey, you have time to do me a favor?" 

His grin contrasted with the dark blue of his fur as he met her gaze, then did a graceful bow. "For you my dear, of course. What do you need?" 

"I vaugely remember you saying you had a universal translator," she headged, smiling when he snapped his fingers and turned to rifle through large piles of notes and various inventions. 

"How can you keep track of everything?" Duncan asked as he looked at various things in jars. 

"Easily. Don't touch that!" 

Startled, Duncan set it down too roughly, wincing when it knocked another jaw off, the glass shattering on the floor. "Uh, sorry." 

Lashana sighed and rose her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Goddess give me strength...." 

"Forget strength," Kang muttered. "Ask for Advil." 

Kenshin shook his head at their antics, then looked at the Predator that the elf held. "Lashana-dono? I think he's trying to say something." 

"Eh?" Curious, she gently set Vk'leita down on a pile of papers and crouched down to be at eye level with him when he spoke again, trying to get something across in sign language. "Hang on a sec, will ya? We've almost got the translator." When he growled, she sighed and nodded, gesturing for him to go ahead. As she watched, he pointed to himself and mimed a break on one of his tusks. "Broken tusk? Oh! You mean Dachande. How I know about him?" At his nod, she bit her lower lip, mulling that over for a moment. "Well, um, y'see the universe is not only made up of many planets, but many varying worlds and dimensions. In my home dimension, you and your people are a fiction. Characters, made up in stories. I read about Dachande in one of those stories, and I read about you. Where we are now, this Palace, is a crossroads in both dimensions and worlds, everything coincides here, I suppose that's how Telca and I managed to stumble onto you." 

"Aha! Found it!" Grinning, Beast pulled out the small silver-dollar sized invention and brought it over, handing it to the elf. "Just activate it by pressing that button. All you have to do after that is keep it on your person. The technology is advanced enough that everyone within five hundred meters of you will be in the 'cone' as it were, everyone will be able to understand one another." 

"Yatta!" Smiling, she activated it, then eyed the Predator. "Okay, say something." 

He growled and folded his arms over his chest. "You expect me to believe that farce about dimensions?" 

She grinned, ignoring his condescending tone. "Hey! It worked. Kewl! Thanks, Beast-chan!" On impulse, she went over and hugged him. "I'll get a couple of boxes of Twinkies down here for ya!" 

Kenshin smiled, then looked at the Predator. "What Lashana says is true. All of us here are from different dimensions, that we are. With their portals, Lashana and Telca can travel to hundreds of thousands of different places. They are travelers, and warriors and protectors. I wouldn't dismiss her words so carelessly." 

Lashana threw an arm around his shoulders and hugged him. "You say the nicest things," she smiled, glancing at Kang and Duncan afterwards. "Unlike these two, who throw frizbees at my head and try to get my dragon killed." 

"We just opened the fridge, they didn't have to go in," Kang protested hauntily. 

Vk'leita shook his head and sighed, lowering his arms as he looked up at the white-haired woman, missing the time when his vision hadn't been altered. It had been so much easier to see things in heat instead of this odd frequency of light bouncing off of things. "If what you say is true, then how did you come to be here?" 

"Me?" She grinned and winked. "I'm a sorceress, I can open portals and go where ever I want!" 

"Technically, you're an Avatar," Kang corrected her. 

"I don't like to spread it around," she muttered sourly. "I have a hard enough time with the wackjobs that Challenge me as it is, I don't need _everyone_ to know about what I am!" 

Vk'leita frowned. "You're.... a Leader?" 

"Leader? Me?" she blushed. "Goddess no. I just.... There are people who want power, and I'm just the one who happens to stand in their way...." She trailed off, grimacing at her own crappy explaination, then sighed. "It's complicated, okay? Just leave it at that." 

Duncan bailed her out before the Pred could ask another question. "So, if he's a character in the book.... what exactly happened to turn him into a tiny tot?" 

"The only explaination would be magick," Beast mused thoughtfully. "And if Lashana cannot counter it...." 

"Then we have to go to the source," the elf finished. "I gotta talk to Telca. Korin, littling, keep an eye on Vk'leita, will you? I don't think either of you should go near her right now." 

::Ech, good point. Hey! I can sense his thoughts now! Wow, is he ever suspicious of you!:: 

She glared. "Korin!" 

::What? I just...:: he trailed off, then shrugged and hopped down from her shoulder to the table. ::Oh nevermind. I'll keep an eye on him.:: 

"Good. I'll be right back." Sighing, she turned and snapped her fingers, eyeing the golden portal that opened in front of her before stepping through, ignoring Vk'leita's hiss of surprise as she walked out into the Main Hall, huffing when she saw that it was devoid of all life. "With twenty-something people living here, you'd think it'd be _easy_ to find someone," she muttered to herself as she spent a moment looking around, then yelled out for Kalamadea, waiting impatiently until a small blue form swooped into the room, wings beating strongly as he landed on the banister to the stairs. 

::You screamed?:: the eldest of the three dragon trio chuckled into her thoughts, pale blue eyes shining in amusement. ::What's up?:: 

"I need to find, Telca," she said as she walked over to him and lightly scratched his chest, eliciting a low purr from him. "Can you help me?" 

::As if you have to ask,:: he grinned as he hopped up to perch on her right shoulder. ::She's up in the Computer Room.:: 

"Great!" Grinning, she opened another portal and stepped through again, ducking at the sound of something spitting, then turning wide eyes to eye the burning hole in the wall. "_Damn...._" 

"Huh?" Startled, Telca turned in her chair and blinked at the elf. "Oh. Sorry. Fred likes to spit at people." 

Lashana eyed the two dozen or so burn marks near the door and gulped. "Do tell." 

"And are you aware that your green stunted lizard was harrassing _my_ cat again?" 

"Um. Yeah. I just found out a few minutes ago. But that can wait." She grabbed a chair and straddled it, resting her arms on the back of it as she met her best friend's gaze. "I found out where Vk'leita's from. He's a character in one of my _Alien vs Predator_ books, and thanks to Beast's universal translator, he's talking now. Or at least, whenever he's in range of this." As she spoke, she pulled the translater out of her jeans pocket and showed it to the other sorceress. "Major mojo must have been involved in order to turn him into a chibi." 

Telca frowned. "So, you think that someone's going around shrinking characters in order to make a profit?" 

"Bingo." 

"That's the most fucked up thing you've come up with this month." 

"Yeah, well, you're not the most stable brick in the foundation either." 

"Point." She glanced back at the computer screen, then shrugged and shut off the system, rising to her feet as Fred jumped up and grabbed onto her braid. "Alright, let's go find Tiny and figure out what happened." 

"They're down in Beast's lab," Lashana told her, seeing her friend nod as the burgundy haired sorceress opened one of her own portals, the silver doorway crackling with energy as they both walked through, emerging into the middle of the lab. The group was still there, and she smiled as Kalamadea swooped off her shoulder and went to greet his younger brother, who growled softly and nudged the other dragon with a wing, a playful movement. 

"Alright, let's hear it," Telca announced as she walked over to the desk and stared down at the Predator. "You weren't always like this, right? Well, it's time to tell us exactly what you remember, about how you came to be this size, else we can't help you." 

Vk'leita glared at her, hating her condescending tone, and yet knowing that these people were the first and only ones to figure out what had happened, the only ones who had gone through so much trouble to even _communicate_ with him. "I don't remember all the details, only that I was drugged while on a Hunt. When I woke, I was like this, caged, like some tamed animal. There were others there as well, some of my kind, some species that I had never seen before. There were ones, like you Elf, with pointed ears, but male...." 

"Elves?" Telca blurted. "The bastards done this to elves? Ooh, that's it, he's going down now!" 

Kang rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Leave it to her to kick ass over some pointy-eared--" He cut himself off at the glares that both Lashana and Telca were giving him, then shrugged, wings mantling slightly. "What? It's true." 

"You're on your own now," Duncan muttered as he backed away from the draconian, moving to lean against a nearby wall. 

"_Anyway_," Lashana grumbled as she turned back to the Pred. "After you woke up, what happened?" 

"I was shipped out, to the store where you found me. My first.... owner.... treated me like a _thing_, then threw me aside. I tried to escape, and was brought back to the shop." 

Telca punched her left fist into her right hand. "Then we start at the store! Let's go!" 

"Ano, Telca, shouldn't you plan this out a bit more?" Kenshin hedged, meeting the sorceress' gaze when she turned to look at him curiously. "To just confront the seller like this.... you could be walking into a trap." 

"Y'know, he's got a point," Lashana agreed. 

"That shopkeep had about as much power as a rock," Telca countered as she opened another portal, turning to look at the elf as she did so. "We don't have to worry about him. It's the seller we have to keep an eye out for. Now are you coming or not?" 

With a whistle, Lashana summoned Korin and Kalamadea to her, waiting until they had taken perch on her shoulders before she gently scooped Vk'leita into her hands, glancing at the guys one last time before she followed Telca into the portal, jumping in surprise when a hand touched her elbow, making her turn to look at Kenshin when the samurai accompanied her. "Kenshin?" 

"I have a bad feeling about this, that I do," he whispered to her, sharp gaze darting around the mall they were now standing in. "Something is not as it seems." 

Now on edge because of his premonition, she nodded and hesitantly turned to follow her friend deeper into the mall, weaving her way through the crowds with ease as she made sure to keep her burgundy haired cohort in her sights, her stomach bottoming out when she saw the familiar store in the distance. _Goddess above, I don't like this idea any more._

::Neither do we,:: Kalamadea sent, speaking for himself and Korin as he tensed his claws, talons pricking her through the material of her t-shirt as he wound his tail around her throat, securely anchoring himself on her shoulder as his gaze closed in on the black chitonous form clinging to Telca's braid. ::The Alien is wary too. I can sense it.:: 

Biting her lower lip nervously, Lashana exchanged a glance with Kenshin, then took in a fortifying breath and hurried after Telca, following her into the store and into the back, where they confronted the manager. "Heyla, gringo. We've got some questions for you!" 

"Huh?" Startled, the man turned just in time to have Telca grab him by the front of his shirt, the taller woman fairly lifting him off his feet as she glared down at him. "W-what can I help you with?" 

"The Pocket Monsters," she growled, eyes narrowing and flashing amber. "Who's your supplier?" 

"If you want to order a certain--" 

"Look, we know they're sentient! We know _everything!_" Lashana snapped, backing up her best-friend's request. "Now cough up the whereabouts of your supplier!" 

Kenshin suddenly tensed, drawing his sword from it's sheathe with a whisper of metal. "Telca-dono!" 

The warning came in time for her to drop the male and hop backwards, avoiding the dart that embedded itself into the floor where she had been standing moments before. Growling out a curse, she turned her gaze to the depths of the back storage room of the store, her eyes falling on the shadowed form that crouched behind a pile of boxes, a glint of light on metal causing her to tackle Lashana to the ground, the second shot barely missing the elf's shoulder. "Shit! He's got backup!" 

"I told you this was a bad idea!" Kenshin retorted as he crouched near them, his eyes turning a little darker as he scanned the storage room, the blade of his sword in front of him. "We cannot return to the store without risking being shot." 

"Dammit," Lashana whispered as Korin and Kalamadea took to the air despite her mental orders not to do so, the duo vanishing into the rows of shelves around them. Cursing, she boosted Vk'leita up to her right shoulder, then moved closer to Telca, a soft glow growing between her palms as she readied a fireball. "We need a plan!" 

When Telca didn't answer right away, Kenshin did. "Set off the sprinkler system with your spell," he ordered. "We may be able to escape by distraction." 

A low chuckle sounded from _above them._ "You won't be able to escape at all!" 

Telca's eyes widened. "Mazoku!" she gasped, launching off a spell and cursing when the demon merely phased out of the spells way then reappeared, a shield easily stopping Lashana's fireball from hitting it's mark. "We're in trouble." 

The Mazoku in human form chuckled darkly. "Indeed you are. _Aero Bomb._" 

The store exploded, the blast throwing the trio out into the open space of the mall, shrapnel from the concrete floors and walls causing little scrapes and cuts across their skin as they rolled to their feet and readied counter attacks. Another explosion rocked the floor under their feet, the tiles buckling and cracking, sending them sprawling with cries of surprise and fright, the screams of the crowds loud in their ears as they tried to scramble for safety. 

This time it was Kenshin who got to his feet first, eyes narrowed as he cradled the hilt of his sword in his hands, using the blade of it to dispell a particularly powerful fireball, the spell's flames rushing on either side of him as he stood his ground. Groans from behind him drew his attention for a split second as he glanced back at the two sorceresses, that little amount of time costing him dearly as a brightly feathered dart embedded itself into his right shoulder. Immediately, his vision swam, his breath leaving him in a curse as he dropped to one knee, bracing himself with his sword. 

Growling, Telca yanked the dart from his arm, then moved to stand in front of him, flickers of light dancing around her as she pulled power from the very air and gathered it to herself, the rapidly created sheild deflecting a barrage of darts away from herself and her friends, knowing that Lashana was already checking on a semi-conscious Kenshin. "How is he?" 

"Out cold!" the elf cried, yelping when two sharp pinches made her glance back at her left shoulder, a cry leaving her when she saw the two darts there. "Telca!" Fighting the darkness that suddenly encroached on her, she opened a portal and shoved Kenshin through, the golden doorway collapsing in on itself moments later when she blacked out, collapsing to the cracked floor with a sickly thud. 

"Shit," Telca whispered as she backed towards her unconscious friend, dropping the spell at the last instant as she spun and grabbed the elf, dragging her friend along as she bolted from the scene. Her empathy was already picking up the Mazoku's intentions as it pursured them, and she forced herself onwards as she staggered, unused to having to carry someone along as she ran. She could feel Fred's talons against the nape of her neck as he climbed up her braid then hissed and spat at something behind her, and she was glad to have him along, being able to tell by his hisses and snarls where their pursuer was, that one advantage allowing her to launch a fireball behind herself, cursing again when she saw it deflect off of a powerful sheild. 

Gasping for breath, she threw herself into another store and ran to the back, hiding behind a display and gently setting the elf down on the floor, ripping out the two darts from her friend's shoulder and smirking when she saw Vk'leita still clinging to the elf's shirt. "We're in the shit now," she muttered sourly, risking a peek around the display and yelping when a spear of blackness shot past her nose and slammed into her shadow, the spell freezing her in place, leaving her unable to defend herself as she Mazoku strolled into her sight, his sickly smile sending an involuntary shudder down her spine. 

"Well, well. Wasn't that a merry little chase," he drawled, lightly running the cool metal of the dart gun across her jaw. "Sterling will be pleased that I've found such unique specimins. I imagine that you two will fetch quite a lovely price. The only female elves in the Pocket Monsters set." 

As the darts embedded themselves in her hip, she entertained the thought that once she awoke, someone, anyone really, was going to be in a world of hurt.   
  
  
  


TBC 


	3. Different Viewpoints

_See Chapter 1 for the usual disclaimer._

Different Viewpoints

Consciousness was slow in coming. The darkness and dullness of sleep seemed intent on keeping her within it's clutches, and Telca was more than happy to let herself stay within that comforting warmth, but something, or rather, _someone_ was refusing to let her rest. Groaning, she swatted at the hands that were shaking her, fighting against the voice that was calling to her through the grey fog that permeated her mind. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, she opened an eye and glared up at the one who was bothering her, blinking when she looked up into Lashana's worried gaze. "Elfy?"

"Thank the Gods," Lashana sighed in relief. "I thought you were dead!"

"M'not dead," she muttered, shaking her head to clear it as she sat up, raising a hand to her head when a wave of dizziness hit her. "Where are we?"

"Um. I don't know," the elf replied as she helped her friend to stand. "But there's bars. And, um, you're not gonna like this..."

"What?" Another look around answered her question. Beside their cage, was a small stapler. This wouldn't have been such an important thing to note had it not been the size of a motorcycle. "Oh, crap."

"Yeah. That's what I thought," Lashana sighed as Telca staggered away from her. "I woke up about half an hour ago. As far as I can tell, we're up on a shelf. And we have neighbours. There's a pack of raptors to our right and just beyond the stapler is a Wookie."

"Damn." Pretty much awake now, Telca walked over to the door to their prison and eyed it curiously, glancing back at Lashana with a smirk as she reached into her hair and pulled out a bobby pin, seeing the rather evil grin spread over the elf's lips. "Let's blow this joint." Smiling, she slid her arm through the bars then bent her wrist to slide the pin into the lock, biting her tongue as she worked the improvised lock-pick tool, her ears straining to hear that soft click that would announce their freedom. As she worked, she was vaguely aware of Lashana moving to the front of the cage to keep watch for whoever had shrunk them and shoved them into said cage.

It was almost five minutes later when she gave a soft cry of happiness and shoved the cage door open, stepping out onto the ledge of the shelf and peering down at the floor that was seven stories away. "Ooh. Watch that first step."

"Gotcha," Lashana acknowledged, closing the door behind her as she stepped out of the cage, then looked around for a way off the shelf. "I could try to weave my flight spell..."

"Considering that we don't know if our magicks work yet, I'd rather not try that out and end up going _splat_ on the floor," Telca rationalised as she edged her way along the shelf, slapping at the raptor's claws when they tried to grab her. "Keep yer talons to yourselves! _Crucio!_"

"I'd say our magick still works," the elf commented as she eyed the raptors who were now writhing and twitching in pain on the floor of their cage.

Telca grinned at that, then pointed to the far end of the shelf. "There's a set of blinds over there, we can use the string to get closer to the ground," she told her friend as she headed for her goal, glancing into various cages as she past them. At any other time, she would have freed the other captives, but somehow, she guessed that Bobba Fett and a group of Nascar Racers weren't exactly going to be of any help. Anyone who drove worse than Lashana was bound to be more of a hindrance than an asset.

Frowning, she stepped up to the edge and looked out at the blind that covered the window, judging the distance from the shelf to the cord. It was a long jump, and she didn't like it, but unless she wanted to take a long plunge to the floor, it was the best choice, actually the only choice, that was available. Sighing, she wiped her palms dry on the legs of her jeans, then took a few steps back, ignoring Lashana's curious look as she did so. Taking a deep breath, she broke into a running start and flung herself off the shelf, outstretched hands closing on the cord and locking there as she curled her ankle around it and pretty much attached herself to the string.

Smiling shakily, she turned and looked at the elf, who was standing up on the shelf with her jaw hanging open in silent shock. "It's easier than it looks! Really!"

Doubtful, but willing to give it a shot, Lashana stepped back a bit to give herself enough of a running start, then bit her lower lip and threw herself forward, eyes widening when a glass jar slammed down around her, the surprising appearance of it leaving her to crash headfirst into the side of it. "What the hell!"

"Ah, ah, ah! No running around my little ones!" Smiling broadly, Sterling used a thumb to push his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose, then grabbed another glass jar and scooped the red-haired elf up into it, ignoring the curses from her as he set the jar on the top shelf, then upended the other jar, sending the white-haired elf to the bottom of the jar. "You're my limited editions! I can't have you getting hurt!"

"I am not a limited edition anything!" Telca screamed, hating how her voice resonated loudly within the jar. "Let me out of here you four-eyed geek!"

"Now, now, don't get rowdy. Wouldn't want you getting hurt," he crooned as he set the second jar next to the first, leaving the covers off so as not to suffocate them. "You're the only female elves in the collection! I know plenty of buyers who will be interested in you two!"

"Joy," Lashana muttered sourly, giving her glass prison a hardy punch just for the hell of it.

"Oh, now don't get upset my little ones! It's not as if you're alone. I've made many a friend for you! Just look at them all!" He turned and waved an arm at all the caged Pocket Monsters that sat on shelves around them. "My fortune lies in you all!"

"And that makes up for teaming up with a Mazoku?" Telca growled, folding her arms over her chest as she glared up at him.

"But of course! Eternal happiness, it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Lashana frowned and shook her head. "Not really. No."

"Well, you're just women. What do you know?"

Flames danced in Telca's eyes. "Oh yeah! Change us back you asshole, then we'll see who knows what!"

Sterling shook a finger at her. "Language, language! You keep that up and I'll have to have you trained."

"Train this!" Lashana snarled, flames gathering at her fingertips. "_Flare Arrow!_" Much to her dismay, the spell reflected against the glass, making her dive for cover as the ten fire arrows rebounded all around her. "Itai!"

"Ooh! And you're a sorceress too? Wonderful! Your price just went up!" Sterling smiled at the small white-haired elf happily, clutching his hands in front of his chest like a little schoolgirl.

"Yay," Lashana growled, smoothing down her scorched hair and exchanging non-impressed glances with Telca.

The sound of a phone ringing drew Sterling's attention then, and he smiled as he waved at the two women then headed deeper into the warehouse, leaving them alone and securely in the jars.

Lashana gave him the finger as he left, then folded her arms over her chest and sulked. "Well this sucks," she grumbled, turning to look at Telca when her friend didn't answer. As she watched, the other sorceress backed up until her back was against the side of the jar, then bolted forward and threw herself at the opposite side, sending the jar wobbling dangerously. "Are you insane! What are you doing!"

"Getting out of here!" Telca shot back as she threw herself at the wall of the jar again, breathing heavily at the strain of trying to topple such an awkward thing. "Are you gonna stay in there all day or are you going to actually do something!"

The elf bit her lower lip in thought, then shrugged and backed up a few steps, sucking in a breath to steel herself as she lunged at the other side, her shoulder hitting the side of the jar with enough force to crack the glass and send her prison wobbling. Following Telca's example, she quickly threw herself to the opposite side, going back and forth numerous times until the jar toppled, falling from the security of the shelf, and she loosed a shriek of surprise as she spun to look at Telca, who had managed to knock over her prison at the exact same moment. She had at least expected to stay _on_ the shelf, not plunge off of it.

Panicked, she frantically pulled on every ounce of power she could manage and threw caution to the winds as she wove her flight spell, sighing in relief as she darted out of the jar seconds before it shattered into a million pieces against the stone floor. A yell drew her attention upwards then, and she looked up in time to have Telca's jar slam into her head, the glass breaking in two and allowing the burgundy haired sorceress to latch onto her as she hovered there and clutched at her head, cursing fluently.

"_Itai!_ Ow, ow, ow!"

Telca tightened her arms around the elf's waist and tried not to think about the long drop. "Can we _please_ get to some sort of ground!"

"Don't you at least care that I just had a huge jar slam into my skull!"

"Of course I do! But I'll care more if I'm not dangling over a sudden-death drop!"

Lashana grumbled but complied anyway, turning to fly over to a cluttered tabletop and gingerly landing on it, hearing Telca's sigh of relief as the other sorceress sunk to her knees and fairly kissed the table in joy. "I don't know whether to be insulted or amused."

"_You_ know flight spells, I don't. Having to cling to someone to prevent a death drop isn't my choice of 'fun ways to spend the day'."

"So why don't you learn a flight spell?" When Telca blinked and looked up at her, she smirked and pulled her friend to her feet. "Lessons start in three days, in the Danger Room."

"Why in three days?"

"Because I somehow think that today is going to be a long, _long_ day."

"Point." Telca sighed, then rose a hand to tug at her braid, straightening it. "Alright. So what do we do now?"

"Personally, I think we should get out of sight before Mr. Psycho comes back from his phone call." Suiting words to actions, Lashana turned and stared to trudge across the table, picking her way over stacks of papers and old candy-bar wrappers. "Ugh, does this man ever clean?"

"He's a man, what do you think?" Telca shrugged as she hopped over a partially eaten lollypop, then paused at a stack of papers, peering at them curiously. "Hey, these are receipts, from stores. Look, here's some from that store we found Fred at."

Curious, Lashana joined her and helped her go through the large sheets of paper. "I've seen four different store names here, and woof, they must be rich to pay this much money."

"Wacko's charging a hefty price for these supposed 'Pocket Monsters'," Telca mused as she held a packet of papers above her head, her arms straining at the weight. "But I don't get why there's a Mazoku involved."

"Neither do I," Lashana muttered as she rifled through a few more sheets. "Mazoku don't care about money, though, I suppose that the meal of negative emotions from the shrunken people would be good enough."

"Maybe. Either way, I don't like it." She sighed and dropped the papers she was holding up, then dusted her hands. "First off, we should try to find out what shrunk us and reverse it. Can't do much in the way of threatening if we're the height of a soda-can."

"Right..." Frowning, Lashana glanced at the receipts a final time, then pointed to a desk on the opposite side of the room. "There's a computer over there."

Telca's gaze followed the elf's pointing finger. "Maybe there's something on it that'll have the two clicks we need to make a clue," she muttered as she walked to the edge of the table and looked down, smirking when she saw a power cord from a lamp leading down to the floor. "I've got an idea. C'mon."

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Safe? Hell no. But unless you wanna swan dive off the table, then we gotta find something to climb down on." Secure in her reasoning, Telca walked over to the lamp and tested it's weight before moving to grasp the cord, her gaze moving to a hesitant Lashana. "You coming?"

Her heart shot up to her throat when Telca leisurely hopped off the table, and she ran over to the edge and looked over it, her eyes widening when she saw Telca casually climbing down to the floor. _Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound._ Shrugging, she followed Telca's lead and slid down the power cord, not even daring to take a breath until her feet touched the floor. "Whew."

"Chicken," Telca smirked.

"Oh shut up," she muttered sourly. "Besides, exactly how to you plan to get up to that computer anyway?"

"Duh. There's a mess of wires leading up from the floor to the computer. We'll just take another climb."

Lashana grimaced. "Joy." Muttering to herself, she followed Telca across the floor, her gaze constantly darting around them, and then shifting to the shelf that was covered in cages, hating having to see all those creatures and people behind those damned bars. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Telca, and the long trek across the floor that would lead them to the mess of wires they would have to clamber up to reach the desk.

It wasn't until a low, throaty growl caught her attention that Lashana realised how much trouble they were in, her eyes widening as she turned to look up into the face of a very annoyed housecat, a high-pitched yelp leaving her as she grabbed Telca's arm. "Telca!"

"What?" the other sorceress whined, turning around to see what had frightened the elf and paling when she saw the gigantic cat. "Uh... Good kitty?"

The cat hissed, baring sharp fangs as it crouched, shoulders working as it readied itself to pounce on them.

Seeing and understanding the very real threat, Lashana bolted, dragging Telca along behind her as she made a mad dash for the wires that lay behind the desk, and screaming when she heard the cat's screech as it gave chase. "I don't wanna get eaten by the cat! Telca! Use crucio!"

"I'm not using that spell on a cute little cat!"

"That 'cute little cat' thinks we're it's next meal!"

"So? It's got a healthy prey drive."

"That's all fine and dandy, you idiot, but need I remind you that the cat is the size of a T-Rex!"

"Hm. You might have a point."

"Might! _Might!_ There is no '_might_'! There is the point! And said point is large, furry, pissed, and it is _trying to kill us!_" The last was more of a wheeze than a scream, and Lashana barely managed to take in a frantic gasp of air before she threw herself forward, ignoring the yelp from Telca as she dove headfirst into the mess of wires that lead up to the computer.

A rather annoyed yowl preceded the cat's tumble into the wires, and Lashana gave a quick thank you to any Gods that were listening as she dropped Telca and scrambled up the keyboard wire.

"Hey, thanks a lot!" Telca growled, grumbling when Lashana gave her the finger before the Elf pulled herself up over the edge of the desk then turned to peer down at her.

"You deserve it! Cute cat my ass! I don't wanna be kitten kibble!" Huffing, Lashana moved away from the edge and stood up, blinking at the desk that stretched out before her. The computer, she noted, looked old, possibly something from before the Pentium One era, and she dreaded having to use it, especially when she and Telca were in this current vertical challenge.

"Oof! I'm getting too old for this shit." With a grunt of exertion, Telca hauled herself over the edge of the desk, then got to her feet, brushing dust and dirt from her jeans. Sighing, she pressed her hands against the small of her back and pushed, groaning when she heard tendons pop and crack. "So, Elfy? See anything of use?"

"Not really. Computer's old. Craptacular kind of old. I don't think it'll be of much use, Telca. Not unless you remember how to use MS-DOS."

The other sorceress shook her head. "I didn't know how to use it then, and I sure as hell don't know how to use it now."

"Lovely. Now what are we supposed to do?"

"I dunno," Telca sighed, tucking loose strands of burgundy hair back into her braid as another yowl of displeasure came from the cat that was still under the desk. A muffled yell from the direction of the door drew her attention, and she quickly grabbed Lashana's arm and dragged the Elf along with her as she went to hide behind the computer.

Eyes wide, Lashana peered around the side of the hard drive as Sterling stomped into the room, seeing his eyes widen behind his black rimmed glasses when he realized that they were no longer in their glass prisons. She quickly ducked back behind their hiding spot when he spun to rake his gaze across the room, meeting Telca's wary look and gesturing to her to be quiet.

"Oh no. Nonononono!" Heart racing, Sterling darted around the room, looking under chairs and tables, under papers and through magazines. A soft noise drew his attention to his cat, and for a brief moment, pure terror gripped him. "Nico! Did you _eat_ them! Wait. What am I saying? You can't even catch mice!" Ignoring the feline, he dropped to his hands and knees and crawled around the room with his cheek against the floor, trying to see under all the furniture. "Oh _no!_ They can't be gone! They can't!"

Curious, Telca edged around the corner of the computer, dimly aware that Lashana had knelt and was peering around her knees. "Why the hell is he freaking out?"

"Dunno," Lashana whispered. "Maybe he promised us to a high bidder."

"Well, in that case, I hope the stress gives him a stroke."

"Gee, you're so kind."

"I try."

"Try harder."

"Shh! He's babbling to himself again!"

The two sorceresses leaned forward as Sterling continued to crawl around the room, and it wasn't until they saw the shadows move that they realised just why Sterling was freaking out. They saw the Mazoku appear before Sterling did, and Telca shoved Lashana backwards when the demon glanced their way, knowing that the elf's white hair would be far too easy to spot.

"Where are they?" The Mazoku growled, and even though he had assumed a human form, he made sure that he looked threatening enough to scare the mortal. "We made a pact, Sterling. We agreed, I help you with this... business, and you give me the most powerful beings you found for your collection. Where's my payment?"

"Um... well..." Standing, he grabbed a napkin off one of the desks and used it to wipe the sweat from his brow. "It seems like they've... escaped."

The temperature in the room plummeted as the Mazoku grew in size, reverting to it's more normal demonic appearance as it towered over the now cowering human. "You _lost_ them! How can you--" Oddly, the Mazoku visibly calmed himself, resuming it's human appearance. "You have one day to find them. Otherwise, my pact with you is broken."

"B-but..." Sterling's blubbering fell on deaf ears, for by the time he had managed to find the courage to speak, the Mazoku had vanished.

Frowning now, Telca ducked behind the computer again and looked at Lashana. "Methinks we may be in trouble."

"I heard. At least we know why the Mazoku's involved. Sterling gives him the 'strongest' of his freaky little pocket people, and he'll suck 'em dry of any mystical power they have."

"Yeah. But where does that leave us? We can't let that fool catch us again, and we have to figure out how to reverse this shrinking thing before the Mazoku leaves." Sighing, Telca ran a hand through her hair, meeting the elf's gaze. "Sterling's got the magickal abilities of a rock, so it's probably the Mazoku that has the key to this... condition."

Lashana leaned her head back against the computer. "So... basically, we have to hope that we see the Mazoku shrink someone within the next day or we're screwed."

"That's pretty much it."

"...okay. How?"

"I have _no _idea."

"_Great_."


End file.
